CONCERT PROGRAMME

Mikołaj Majkusiak. Concerto Classico

Astor Piazzolla. Suite Punta del Este

Gustav Holst. The Planets

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Martynas Levickis is a leading exponent of the accordion. With his talent and charisma, he has led the audiences to rediscover the passionate, emotional and expressive sound and the immense versatility of this instrument. The artist has gained international acclaim, too. The British press praises him for mastery of the instrument and a fresh approach to accordion music. "The amazingly talented Martynas Levickis, the man who is single-handedly reinventing the accordion," wrote The Independent about the young Lithuanian accordion virtuouso.

After graduation from the Royal Academy of Music in London, Levickis went on to study for a Master's degree at Musikene, the Higher School of Music of the Basque Country, Spain. He is the recipient of over 30 awards internationally whereas his 2013 album went straight to the top of the UK Official Classical Album Chart. The artist has performed at the world's prominent venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall and has appeared with the BBC Concert Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and other renowned symphony orchestras. In 2015, Martynas Levickis founded the Mikroorkéstra chamber orchestra, with which he has created a number of concert programmes and touring projects.

Tonight Martynas Levickis joins the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius to present Concerto Classico, a work for the accordion and orchestra, by the contemporary Polish composer Mikołaj Majkusiak (b. 1983) and the Suite Punta del Este by the legendary Argentinian composer Astor Piazolla (1921–1992). The second part of the concert will feature an ouvre by the British composer Gustav Holst, the orchestral suite The Planets. The concept of the work is rather astrological than astronomical (which is why Earth is not included). The suite is made of seven movements: Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Each of them is intended to convey ideas and emotions associated with the influence of the planets on our earthly existence.